It’s Round 16, and Port Adelaide sit fourth, with 11 wins and four losses.
They’ve won their last five matches, and sit two games clear of sixth-placed Melbourne.
If you’re Ken Hinkley, you’re buoyant about what’s to come.
What followed next was one win and six losses culminating in a 10th-placed finish, injuries to Charlie Dixon and Paddy Ryder, and two stars - one a former pick five and the other a former pick six in Jared Polec and Chad Wingard respectively - defecting to Victoria because they didn’t feel valued at Port Adelaide.
The Power stocked up on talent at the draft, with three picks inside the top 20, while they also acquired Scott Lycett and Ryan Burton from other clubs.
Ken Hinkley’s men took the world by storm in 2014 – coming within a hair’s breadth of causing a preliminary final boilover against Hawthorn, and thus a Grand Final berth – on the back of a thrilling game style with lightning quick ball-movement and high scoring.
They were nothing like that last year, putting extra numbers behind the ball, and scoring far fewer goals.
Perhaps the new rules might force them into some more attacking play, which, if the players can adapt, will see them rise back up into the finals for only the second time since that scintillating 2014 run.
OUR BEST 22 - ROUND 1
NOTABLE OMISSIONS: Charlie Dixon (leg), Hamish Hartlett (knee), Ollie Wines (shoulder)
MVP
The ace in the pack, and probably the greatest Port Adelaide player in AFL times.
Robbie Gray is the classiest AFL player with ball in hand, and his move forward in recent seasons has demanded he win more one-on-ones, which isn’t his forte, but it also means that once he has the ball, usually a score is imminent.
With Chad Wingard now gone, his forward nous is more critical than ever, and after a fourth All-Australian selection in five years, he remains in the prime of his career.
Gray is definitely one player who would be better served by faster ball movement and a more aggressive style of play, given his quick-thinking and nimble footwork.
Port Adelaide can’t afford anything less than his best.
BREAKOUT
Connor Rozee was the number five pick, and he and Xavier Duursma are both likely to line up in Round 1, but it was Zak Butters who had Port Adelaide fans up and about through the JLT Community Series.
Hailing from Melbourne’s west, Butters showed enough to be selected at pick No. 12 despite missing the second half of his draft year with shoulder issues – which he had carried through his eight TAC Cup games that impressed Port Adelaide so much.
Port Adelaide seem intent to inject youth and speed into their lineup, and while Butters is quick, his skills and footy IQ make him seem even quicker, as at his best he will have the ball zinging forward, catching defences out.
He gathered 25 disposals against Adelaide, and then booted three goals over North Melbourne in the pre-season.
Look for him to have an immediate impact and change Port Adelaide for the better.
UNDER THE PUMP
Jack Watts’ first season with the Power wasn’t what he would have hoped.
His numbers weren’t hideous, but they jump off the page: roughly 15 disposals, five marks, and a goal per game.
However, he was dropped mid-season, and didn’t return a particularly better player.
Following a summer to forget – involving one scandal about a number of leaked texts, and another surrounding a video of him at a music festival, which prompted his CEO David Koch to say he was “embarrassed” and “absolutely ropeable” – Watts is far from guaranteed a spot in Port’s new-look attack for 2019.
Paddy Ryder will spend far more time up forward thanks to Scott Lycett’s arrival, and the new kids are banging down the door.
However, at his best Watts is good enough not only to hold down a spot, but to boost Port Adelaide back up the ladder.
2019 will be a career-defining season.
EARLY PREDICTIONS...
1. Tom Rockliff will carry on the form he showed towards the end of 2018 to win 700+ possessions
2. New co-captain Ollie Wines will take his game to a new level, vying for All-Australian status
3. Ken Hinkley will be the coach under the most pressure if Port Adelaide aren’t competing for finals
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